National Endowment for the Arts Grants

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS is pleased to announce that application guidelines for FY 2007 grants are now available on-line at www.arts.gov.

The National Endowment for the Arts is a federal agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts - both new and established, bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Annually, the agency awards more than $100 million in matching grants to non-profit organizations in all 50 States. In FY 2005, the agency awarded at least one direct grant in all Congressional districts.

The Arts Endowment awards grants to non-profit organizations for arts projects that are of national, regional, or field-wide significance; that tour in several states; or that provide an unusual or especially valuable contribution because of geographic location. Grants are awarded also for local projects that can have significant effects within communities or that are likely to serve as program models.

Arts Endowment funding is available for projects in the following fields: Dance, Design, Folk & Traditional Arts, Literature, Media Arts (Film, Radio, Television), Museums, Music, Musical Theater, Opera, Presenting, Theater and Visual Arts. The Endowment also awards grants to local and State Arts Agencies and to Regional Arts Organizations.

Funding Categories

Access to Artistic Excellence: Projects that foster and preserve excellence in the arts and provide access to the arts for all Americans. An organization may request a matching grant from $5,000 to $150,000. Application deadlines: March 13, 2006 and August 14, 2006. (See Guidelines to determine which deadline pertains to which type of project.)

Challenge America: Reaching Every Community Fast-Track Review Grants: Grants for projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations. Matching grants are for $10,000. Application deadline: June 1, 2006.

Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth: Projects that enhance the quality of, and access to, arts education for children and youth. Matching grants are from $5,000 to $150,000. Application deadline: June 12, 2006.

For Application Assistance
Please direct constituents to www.arts.gov/grants/apply to download application information, application forms and application deadlines. The website includes "frequently asked questions" and names and phone numbers of Endowment staff to answer questions about the application process. Examples of recent grants can be found at www.arts.gov/grants/recent. There is now also the option to apply via grants.gov.

If Congressional staffers have questions, please call the Endowment's Office of Government Affairs at 202-682-5434 or email Shana Chase at chases@arts.gov or Mike Burke Kirby at kirbym@arts.gov.

If you are alerting constituents to funding opportunities, please note that grant competitions are also conducted by each State Arts Agency and Regional Arts organization. To identify their addresses and contact information, go to the Endowment's website, click on NEA Partners, then State and Regional Arts Organizations.

To do a mailing, your State Arts Agency may have a list of arts organizations by Congressional district through www.arts.gov/partner/state/SAA_RAO_list.html. There is also a page below that you may want to produce and enclose to guide them through our website.

The National Endowment for the Arts' website (www.arts.gov) has a wealth of information useful to organizations seeking funding for arts projects:

* Go to www.arts.gov/grants/apply. Click on your discipline or field. Click on a funding opportunity. (Grants for Arts Projects covers all but some specialized categories.) You will find all the relevant information and forms, including the phone numbers for the Agency's professional staff, descriptions of recent grants that may be similar to your project, lists of panelists who reviewed previous applications, and Frequently Asked Questions.

* Click on Resources on the NEA home page to find many other sources of help and funding, including the State Arts Agencies, other federal agencies, grants.gov, and numerous non-profits and foundations.

* Grants.gov is the government-wide on-line application system for federal grants. We encourage organizations to use the grants.gov system. Applying online will be optional for most FY 2007 applicants but is expected to become mandatory in calendar year 2008. In order to submit an application electronically, an organization must first register through grants.gov. Since registration can take weeks to complete and to process, do not wait until the application deadline to register. Register well in advance.

* Since 2003, the National Endowment for the Arts has sponsored National Initiatives that award grants for arts presentations in all 50 States with educational outreach activities and free curriculum materials for teachers. To learn more about current National Initiatives, go to the NEA home page to access: American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius; THE BIG READ; Great American Voices Military Base Tour; NEA Jazz Masters/NEA Jazz in the Schools; Poetry Out Loud: National Poetry Recitation Contest; and Shakespeare in American Communities.